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Friday, October 28, 2011

It's no secret that fumeheads (an affectionate term for perfume enthusiasts) are sensuous people. They embrace anything that involves the senses, from Epicurian tastes to visual stimuli. There's simply always an open arena to sniff, to savour, to lay one's eyes on...Life's too short anyway not to be inquisitive.
In this regard, a team of excellent perfume bloggers (please check them out on the bottom of post) joined me into relaying our recent disoveries in sensual pleasures for this fall. Enjoy!

TACTILE SENSATIONS

It's our national holiday today (the Ohi Day) and the military nuance isn't out of place. But beyond that, this navy blue wool jacket by La Redoute is both very warm and stylish enough to be worn any given day. I'm pairing it with dark-rinse bootcut jeans (instead of khakis), a matelot top (just like in the photo) and my trusty Hermès enamel bangles to finish off its nautical theme.

VISUAL DELIGHTS

Art has a way of brightening the day. Especially original art I can hang on my walls.

To my utter surprise (jaded perfume critic that I've become!) several fragrance releases lately have not only been quite impressive, but they have infiltrated their presence into my everyday existence beyond reviewer's testing alotment. I have adopted them in a more durable way and thinking about investing more substantially on them.

Bottega Venetta Eau de Parfum THE winner for me this fall; subtly leathery goodness with warmth and coziness, underneath a fruity chypre mantle with a beating jasmine heart. What's not to like? It's also a more easily procured and less expensive stand-in for Boxeuses. Win-win.

Parfumerie General Praliné de Santal The juxtaposition of savoury and sweet, intensely nutty, before the scent falls into an unctuous billowy note of powdery, rich woods and the soothing, smooth silkiness of Cashmeran is addictive. I'm thinking of it when not wearing it. Not to mention, sandalwood is proving something of the theme of the season, once again.

Cartier Baiser Volé This stolen kiss of green lily and powder is ethereally lyrical. I might have expected more avant-garde by Mathilde Laurent, but let's be realistic here: it's so very pretty!

Tauer Pentachord White A silvery, expansive imagescape: A fragrance of either the crack of dawn or the crepuscular drawing of a prolonged cool afternoon, the contrast between light and shadow. Orris, violet, vanilla, ambergris notes...

Guerlain Mitsouko (vintage) Revisiting my old bottles of Mitsouko, like I ritualistically do as soon as autumnal weather raps at my window pane, I'm reminded of the words of Pascal Bruckner that "[anyone] who desires cannot be guilty... sin proceeds only from prohibitions" and I'm mentally throwing my fist at IFRA.

Edith Head's little 1967 tome on how to elegantly dress was reprinted: How to Dress for Successis not merely someone's fashion advice. It is written by the woman who imprinted on our collective memory the golden goddesses of Hollywood and their impecable style. Retro, granted, but you'll blink out of the sheer chic.

FILMS TO CATCH

Drive
I had forgotten all about "neon-noirs", in which the LA night lights -in the immortal words of Sunny/Alexandra Paul- "made her cunt's hairs shine"; till this little Nicolas Winding Refn directed gem that is. The anti-hero's fantasy of being a silent type ordinary man "but [also] a real hero" is mingled with the director's essay on man's true nature and its boundaries; immortalised in successive shots of the white satin jacket with a huge scorpion sewn on the back and splattered with blood. I'm still thinking about it weeks after watching.

George Harrison: Living in the Material World
I have always been a fan of The Quiet Beatle since day one. It's great to see many more were of an equal disposition towards his immense contribution; not only to music but to cinema too (A lesson for us all on how to support what you believe in).

TASTES TO SAVOUR

Ambergris Eggs As discussed in a seperate post on cooking with ambergris, this is a heavenly and decadent recipe that will change your Sunday mornings for ever. Just don't pair them with bacon; the crude, oily meatiness doesn't go well with the marine, smoky-earthy character of the ambergris.

Fava (split pea purée) with caramelised onions Not exactly a new discovery, but I'm trying to reintroduce all the good, rural, organic dishes that Greek food really stands for into our everyday table: This is the stuff that made sturdy people who lived to a hundred with their wits sharp to the end, withstanding wars and ravages all the while. It's got to have something going for it! For this recipe (by Chef Karitas, find it here, on The Greek Fork) I use organic Santorini yellow lentil fava and extra virgin olive oil. Makes for a fine spread or dip for pita bread and accompanies a good Santorini Vinsanto on a cool evening.

HAUNTING SOUNDTRACK

From the mind-blowingly nuanced and dark Revolutionary Road film, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio. Music by Thomas Newman, this is the end titles piece. Let it fill the empty house as evening approaches...

Another great post.. I am Greek and Italian and Fall seems like the best season to get out the heavy artillery and start cooking and baking (especially Greek). Bring out the Ouzo and Metzaka too :-) Ummmmm

Elena, thanks for sparking me to check out Revolutionary Road and the George Harrison doc...it's hard to keep on top of everything. Loving the clip of Thomas Newman's music. And How to Dress for Success duly bookmarked.

Elena,Thank you for initiating this sense-fest and inviting me to participate!Sandalwood seems to really be the scent-of-vogue, probably because it's becoming extinct, and some big company found a synthetic replacement that everybody is happy to use? Was surprised to see Santal-Massoia coming out of Hermes right after IFRA put a ban on this note...

I'd have to try your fava recipe, looks delish and reminds me of mujadara (all-time favourite from my village that looks dull but is delish!). Loved Revolutionary Road but never thought about the music again till you posted this! And speaking of Neon-Noir - I've spent all of last weekend reading The Jasmine Trade by Denise Hamilton (who is also a fellow perfumista) and am having hard time staying away from the library to get the rest of the Eve Diamond series... You should read them if you haven't already. XOXOayala

Thanks for the suggestions! I love fava beans too. But the fava beans in our pic look nothing like the Italian ones. Are they already shredded? or are greek fava beans different? (in fact you talk about fava *lentils*).

Love the lipstick color! Thank you for all the tempting autumn treats, this is the first day of my woodstove ON and the darker days are upon us no matter my protestations! Thank you again for your comforting directions XO M

Oooh what a delicious post! Matelot tops (I am wearing one today, too), Bottega Veneta, vintage Mitsy, D&G lippy (I'm addicted to it), Edith Head, George Harrison and fava/lentils - all fantastic and great favourites of mine. I'm not sure there is anything to add after all that scrumptiousness - we share so many favourites. Thank you my dearest E!

thanks for dropping by and by all means, I know what you mean! (so many things vying for our attention these days)RR is a great watch, rather heart-clentching in parts, but rings absolutely true; a rare feat for a film produced by a big studio nowadays. And hope you enjoy the rest as well.

It's rather puzzling how companies are bypassing the sandalwood problem. I believe the Hermes is going more for reconstitution and abstraction, from the little I have weaned as of yet of course.

Isn't it funny how the Eastern Med has some of the most mouth-watering dishes in the world? I ADORE Lebanese, Jewish, Syrian, Egyptian cuisine; often of humble roots, but so very delicious! Mujaddara and Babaganoush are firm favourites, I could eat them every day and not tire of them.

BTW, Currently I'm finishing Denise's latest neo-noir (and possibly a neon-noir if they turn it into a film! Hollywood producers, take note!) and preparing a review, but will definitely check out the Eve Diamond series next, since you rec it.

"fava" is actually the name of the dish. The legume used is either split peas (ρεβύθια) or shredded yellow lentils (σπασμένη κίτρινη φακή), customarily sold as "fava" in the local market. "Fava beans" is another thing, as you point out. They're sold as a bean variety, AFAIK.

I believe there is a clear attribution with a link under the pic and a direct link to the recipe on your site. Doesn't it show up for you? But if you simply mean if I could add the name of the chef/site in the actual link to the recipe, I'd be most happy to integrate it. Going to fix it right now!

I enjoyed this post very much, and I seriously want those trousers in particular. The lipstick looks amazing, but would be every kind of ghastly on my sallow complexion. Scentwise, we share a number of the same favourites from this season, namely Bottega Veneta, L'Essence (it is the new perfect office scent, I agree!), Baiser Vole and Violet Blonde.

With it being Hallowe'en, I have also been enjoying Prada Candy, and on the food front porridge drizzled with maple syrup and roast chicken with mashed root veg.

Elena Vosnaki has been Fragrance Expert on About.com and the Perfume History Curator of the Be Open Foundation exhibitionThe Garden of Wonders, A Journey in Scents in Milan. She currently acts as editor/author for top fragrance webzine Fragrantica.com and as the managing editor for Fragrantica.gr

Her writing has been twice shortlisted in the FIFI Editorial Excellence Awards, is extensively quoted by authors. She is an evaluating expert on Osmoz.com. Interviews of the author regarding her status as perfume historian & writer appear in VOGUE Hellas, ICON Magazine and Queen.gr

Perfume Shrine is an award winning blog of 1000s of fragrance reviews (modern, niche, classic, vintage), articles on perfume history and aroma materials, comparisons of scents, interviews with perfumers & the fragrance industry, perfume shopping as well as scented travel memoirs, fine cuisine, tips on building a fragrance wardrobe and musings about the pleasures of the senses.